CHICAGO – The actor John Mahoney, the son of Chicago that came here from England, died on February 4th, 2018 at his home in nearby Oak Park. He was 77. He had a varied career of stage and screen roles, but he is best remembered as Dad Martin Crane to sons Niles and “Frasier,” on that long running series.

CHICAGO – The 48th Annual Hugo Television Awards took place last Thursday, April 19th, and the honoree for the career achievement award at the event was Kelsey Grammer, best known for portraying Frasier Crane on the series “Cheers” and “Frasier,” and currently portraying Mayor Tom Kane in the Starz Network cable drama “Boss.” Among the attendees paying tribute to Grammer was his long-time costar, John Mahoney, who played Frasier’s father on the sitcom.

CHICAGO – Cinema/Chicago and the Chicago International Film Festival will be honoring television icon Kelsey Grammer at their 48th Hugo Television Awards, in Chicago on April 19th. Grammer portrayed Dr. Frasier Crane on the sitcom “Cheers” and the spin-off “Frasier” for 20 years, tying a record for playing the same TV character continuously.

CHICAGO – Who would have guessed that the network to jump on the Betty White phenomenon (and who would have guessed that would ever be a viable phrase) would be TV Land? It makes a certain kind of twisted sense that a sitcom featuring stars who made it big on other shows would reunite on network built around reruns but “Hot in Cleveland” should have and could have been much better and one wonders if it wasn’t fate but that no one else would have this lackluster comedy.

CHICAGO – Kelsey Grammer is such a TV veteran, a major part of two of the best sitcoms in the history of the medium in “Cheers” and “Frasier,” that it makes his decision to do something as generic, predictable, and unfunny as ABC’s “Hank” all the more disappointing. You would think he knew better by now.

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CHICAGO – “Speech & Debate,” the latest production from the mighty Brown Paper Box Company, continues their tradition of thinking outside that “box” in presenting storefront theater that makes a statement and a difference. “Speech” goes inside America by showcasing the outsiders… those who create art because they can’t get it right in real life. This non-equity Chicago stage play premiere is finely tuned and wonderfully acted, and runs through March 4th, 2018. Click here for more details, including ticket information.

CHICAGO – The 1960s were a time of historical social transition. The movements – civil rights, feminist, gay rights – all had roots in that tumultuous decade. The Chicago premiere of Basil Kreimendahl’s “We’re Gonna Be Okay” echoes all of those movements in its characters, and collides them against the October 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. The show has a Thursday-Sunday run at the American Theater Company through March 4th, 2018. Click here for more details, including ticket information.